The long-term effects of breastfeeding on child and adolescent mental health: a pregnancy cohort study followed for 14 years.

1Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. wendyo@ichr.uwa.edu.au

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To determine whether there was an independent effect of breastfeeding on child and adolescent mental health.

STUDY DESIGN:

The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study recruited 2900 pregnant women and followed the live births for 14 years. Mental health status was assessed by the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) at 2, 6, 8, 10, and 14 years. Maternal pregnancy, postnatal, and infant factors were tested in multivariable random effects models and generalized estimating equations to examine the effects of breastfeeding duration on mental health morbidity.